1/4 or 3/8 for detail in carving with saw

[Ax-man]

Is there much difference between using 1/4 inch pitch verses 3/8 th's Picco for the detail in a saw carved figure like a bear or eagle??

The reason for the question is I got a very good book on the subject of carving for Christmas from my daughter so I decided to try carving my first animal figure , a bear. The book is the best I have seen on the subject

The book stated that for a dime sized tip on a carving bar you shoud only run the 1/4 because it will give better detail and will not split the rails on the tip of bar. Running the 3/8 Picco on a dime tip will split the rails on the bar.

I don't see all that much difference between the two chains except for some extra cutters. I have two bars both are the dime sized tips. One came with the 3/8th's the bar is similar to what you can buy through Bailey's, I have had it for years. The other is a Stihl carving bar. It came with the the 1/4 inch. I tried both bars out but didn't get too far with the detailing and texturing because the light was fading. The 1/4 is a little smoother to run but I couldn't see why you couldn't use the 3/8th's for the same purpose. The 1/4 in seems to be the standard for chainsaw carving.

Anyone care to take a stab at my question based on their experience.

After doing this for the first time things are make much more sense to me now based on the pics of the works in progress I have seen and the finished carvings of bears . I have already made a few mistakes mostly from not handling the saw quite right and not having a trained eye but it all comes with practice.

Don't worry I am not going to post a pic:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[GnawDog]

They say 3/8's picco will fit a quarter tip bar but not a dime tip. The radius is too small and the chain will gap around the tip. As far as carving a bear you shouldn't have any problem with cutting or furring using a quarter tip. The only problems you may have would be on a small bear or on carving eyes. If you stick with a 12" diameter log and use marbles for eyes, you'll do great with a quarter tip!

 

[Ax-man]

Thanks for your reply.

I went out and double checked just to make sure I wasn't posting something wrong. I have 3/8th's Picco on that dime tip. I don't see any gapping as the chain goes around the tip of the bar. This is just by pulling it around by hand with the saw not running. I don't know what is happining when the saw is running.